Thursday, 27 October 2016

Restaurant Impossible Season 2 Open or Closed

A list of all Restaurant Impossible season 2 restaurants, whether they are open or closed and what happened next after Robert left the restaurants featured on the popular Food Network show.

Restaurant Impossible Season 2

18 EpisodesAired: July 2011 to January 2012Closure Rate: 67%

Dodge City - OPEN

Episode Recap

Chef Robert Irvine visits Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, to help turn around Dodge City and prevent the restaurant from closing after being open for over 30 years. The restaurant has a long running Wild West theme and the owners are weary of change, refusing to makes needed to make the restaurant more modern. Robert eventually persuades them to make some changes including changes to the menu and some slight changes to the décor.

What Happened Next?

Yelp and Trip Advisor reviews are mostly good since Robert visited the restaurant. Robert Irvine returned to the restaurant a year later and was impressed with the restaurants progress and the food he was served.

La Stanza - CLOSED

Episode Recap

ChefRobert Irvine visits La Stanza in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, where he finds an Italian restaurant stuck in the past. The restaurant is being run by the owners 24 year old daughter, who dropped out of college to run the restaurant. She had no restaurant experience at all and there was a recent controversy with under-age sale of alcohol so Robert has his hands full. He finds the problem isn't so much with the food but with the depressing decor and lack of promotion of the restaurant. Robert gets to work with some additions to the menu and teaching Lucia everything she needs to run the restaurant after he has left.

What Happened Next?

Yelp and Trip Advisor reviews since filming are mostly good. They only kept one of Robert's dishes from the additions he added to the menu. The restaurant closed in November 2014.

Sweet Tea - CLOSED

Episode Recap

Chef Robert Irvine visits Chapin, South Carolina, to help turn around Sweet Tea, a relatively new restaurant being run by a couple with no experience in the restaurant trade. With the owner's father's life savings depending on the success of the restaurant Robert is determined to turn the restaurant around. Christine and Jeffrey have been struggling to keep the restaurant afloat for a year and there isn't much time or money left. The food comes straight out of a packet, can or the freezer. Robert turns around the menu and helps them to make proper sweet tea.

What Happened Next?

Reviews after Robert's visit are average with negative comments on service and food. There are however noted improvements in the taste of the sweet tea they were serving. The restaurant closed in the fall of 2011. Ava’s Copper Pot Bistro opened it's place, reviews were very good but this closed in 2014.

County Fare - CLOSED

Episode Recap

Chef Robert Irvine visits County Fare in Stafford, Virginia, the restaurant has been open 5 years and is now on the verge of closure. Owner Eric Green has sunk his life savings into the restaurant and is now close to losing it all. Robert discovers that the restaurant is filthy, the food is disgusting and bordering inedible and the decor needs a lot of work to be done. Robert works on updating the decor, creating a signature dish and to train the staff as they lack basic cooking skills.

What Happened Next?

After the show aired, owner Eric Green reported business improved for one month and then sales dropped and they had 2 of their worst months in 3 years.Yelp reviews after filming were mostly average to poor. The restaurant closed in October 2011, 6 months after the show aired and was briefly reopened by new owner in January 2012 as County Cafe. The reviews of County Cafe were good but it closed after less than a year. In 2013, Smoke Pit Cafe opened and reviews are good.

Snooty Fox - CLOSED

Episode Recap

Chef Robert Irvine visits Snooty Fox in Indianapolis, Indiana, an English Pub that has been operating for 28 years. The regular customers are an ageing population and new customers aren't being drawn in. Robert arrives and is unimpressed with the British theme and finds filth in both the kitchen and dining room and some serious food hazards. Robert doesn't hesitate in shutting the restaurant down and the Head Chef walks out, never to return. Robert overhauls the menu and updates the decor. He finds two potential new head chefs and stages a cook off between the two to find the best candidate with them cooking British style food including Traditional Fish and Chips.

What Happened Next?

The restaurant closed less than 3 months after the episode aired. Owner Tim Queissersaid that there was a short term boost in their sales for a few months but the customers stopped coming.

Pastori's - CLOSED

Episode Recap

Chef Robert Irvine visits Ellington, Connecticut, where he finds not only a business on the verge of collapse but also a family on the verge of falling apart. Owners Bill and Georgia Savvidis had owned the restaurant for over 20 years and it was once very successful. However, the success did not last and the restaurant is in it's last few months before it will close. Matter's weren't helped when Bill fired his head chef Steve who was also his son, this caused problems with both family relationships and with the business. The customers felt the biggest brunt of this as the food quality suffered. As well as the bad food and the fractured family, Robert also had to deal with a terrible decor. The menu was given a transformation and the kitchen staff were trained.

What Happened Next?

They kept most of the new menu but bought back some old dishes. Yelp reviews are mixed after Robert's makeover of the restaurant, there are as many bad reviews as there are good. The bad comments seem to centre on the food as the reviews are often positive about the service. On 8th June 2014, the restaurant closed.

Scrimmages - CLOSED

Episode Recap

Chef Robert Irvine visits Scrimmages Restaurant inEllington, Connecticut, a sports bar run by four partners and with so many different opinions it was only a matter of time before everyone fell out with each other and the partnership fell apart. They are no longer making money and the relationships are beyond breaking point. Robert has his hands full with repairing both the restaurants issues and the relationships between the owners.

What Happened Next?

Reviews after Robert visited were mostly negative on Yelp but average on Trip Advisor, it appears they went back to their old ways serving poor food and providing poor service. The restaurant changed ownership in November 2013 and became Catch 202.

Mamma D's - CLOSED

Episode Recap

Chef Robert Irvine visits Pipersville, Pennsylvania, where owner Luigi has combined all his passions into one building: Italian restaurant, farm, vineyard and wine shop. Robert was totally against the animals being on the premises, mainly for food safety reasons but also because of the smell and this was his first change that he suggested. The food station that was preparing different items than the main kitchen, so this was also removed and Luigi's son who is a fully trained chef but wasn't given any freedom was promoted to head chef. The dining room was given a revamp with a lot of the clutter being removed from the restaurant.

What Happened Next?

Reviews after Robert visited were mostly good. He didn't keep Roberts menu and reverted to a menu using fresh ingredients from the family's farm. A year on and business was better than it was but still a struggle due to the economy of the area. The restaurant closed in October 2013.

Off Street Cafe - OPEN

Episode Recap

Chef Robert Irvine visits Cerritos, California, where he finds Off Street Cafe, a restaurant owned by an ex mother in law/daughter in law who struggle to run the restaurant together. When they first opened, they were making money and were able to pay back the loan on the restaurant but as the income declined the debts crept back up and they are now in the original amount of debt. One owner couldn't be there due to problems with her feet and multiple surgeries that had to be performed and the other had no control of the staff or the menu, ordering the same food items each week but paying no attention to what was actually selling on their huge menu. Robert revamped both the menu and the decor.

What Happened Next?

They are still open and appear to have kept most of Roberts menu changes but in June 2014, they changed the decor. Yelp and Trip Advisor reviews appear to be mostly positive with compliments to both the service and the food.

The Trails Eatery - OPEN

Episode Recap

Chef Robert Irvine visits The Trails Eatery in San Diego, California, owned by a father and daughter team and run by Stacey Poon-Kinney. He finds a small yet delightful restaurant but Robert soon discovers that they are in a dire financial position and are very close to closing. The decor is given a makeover and it looks much more aesthetically pleasing afterwards.

What Happened Next?

Yelp and Trip Advisor reviews are mostly good since Robert visited.Some of the decor had to be changed following a flood in the restaurant. The Owner Stacey Poon-Kinney appeared on Food Network show "Next Food Network Star".

Cap’n And The Cowboy - CLOSED

Episode Recap

Chef Robert Irvine visits Cap'n and the Cowboy in Port Charlotte, Florida, a steak and seafood restaurant owned by former dishwasher Nick Scaringella who worked his way up in restaurants before deciding to open his own. Robert is stunned to discover that he knows nothing about the restaurants finances, he doesn't know what he is spending on food or how much money the restaurant takes. Nick cuts corners and the food is only mediocre. Robert removes the clutter from the restaurant in his makeover and improves the food. He also takes them to nearby Laishly Crab House to show them how a restaurant should be run.

What Happened Next?

They were successful after Robert's makeover but decided to close by their own choice in August 2012. It appears that they had problems with the landlord.

They elaborated further on Facebook..

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In 2013, Nick was a chef at newly opened Tortuga's restaurant which specialises in seafood.

The Mad Cactus - CLOSED

Episode Summary

Chef Robert Irvine visits The Mad Cactus in Strongsville, Ohio, a Mexican themed restaurant which is serving poor quality frozen Mexican food from a dreary dining room.The owners Tom and Robert constantly argue in this episode and the menu is given a makeover as is the interior and a salsa bar is added.

What Happened Next?

After Robert visited, Tom claims that Robert was constantly losing his temper at him, his staff and the production team throughout and claimed that some scenes were set up. But he acknowledged that business was up 20% and the new interior has gone down well with the customers. Yelp reviews after Robert visited are mostly poor with complaints of poor food standards, it appears that they went back to their old menu (except the puffy tacos) after Robert left.

McShane's - CLOSED

Episode Recap

Chef Robert Irvine visits McShane's in East Syracuse, New York, run by owner Cindy who boasts about the chicken they serve but the problem is that no one is coming in to eat it. Robert finds that the restaurant and kitchen are both very dirty but it's not just the dirt in the restaurant that is a problem, the decor is tacky and in urgent need of updating. The food doesn't fare much better, although the half chicken impresses the rest of the food is lacking in flavour. Robert revamps the menu and the decor and adds a few menu items of his own.

What Happened Next?

Robert revisits and the restaurant is doing well. Cindy has kept the menu items that Robert added and the Half Chicken is still the signature dish and their top seller. The restaurant closed in May 2013 and they opened a food truck called The Chicken Bandit, it appears from their FB page that they were unhappy with the location of the restaurant but didn't want to be tied to a single location. They still serve their signature dishes including their 1/2 chicken and appear to be very successful.

Coffee's Boilin' Pot - CLOSED

Episode Recap

Chef Robert Irvine visits Coffee's Boiling Point in Madisonville, Louisiana, where he meets owners Tim and Allene who fell in love when they worked in the restaurant. They got married and when the business was up for sale in 2005 they bought the business. Things went downhill after they bought it and because of the pressure of running they restaurant they fell out of love and soon divorced. Robert finds that the restaurant is dirty and that the food is frozen, poorly cooked and poorly seasoned.

What Happened Next?

The restaurant closed in July 2012, the restaurant was ravaged by Hurricane Isaac after being sold in August 2012. Another seafood restaurant named Crabby Shack was opened in it's space in February 2013 following a vast revamp.

St James Soup Kitchen - OPEN

Episode Recap

Chef Robert Robert Irvine travels to Newark, New Jersey, for this Thanks Giving Special to help to reopen a soup kitchen, restaurant and dining room run for the homeless by the local church charity that has been ravaged by a fire. They are in a race against time to be able to relaunch the restaurant in time for Thanksgiving and help serve a Thanksgiving dinner to the thousands of homeless people of Newark and New York City.

What Happened Next?

Thanksgiving dinner was served to the homeless and the homeless continue to be fed at the soup kitchen, please consider donating anything you are able to the soup kitchen so they can continue helping the homeless. Happy holidays xx

Wild Cat Cafe - OPEN

Episode Recap

Chef Robert Irvine visits Canton South High School in Canton, Ohio, who run their own restaurant as part of their culinary school, allowing students to gain invaluable experience of running a restaurant. However, the restaurant is suffering due to budget cuts and in order to survive it has to become self sufficient. Robert found a number of hurdles he had to overcome including broken equipment, lack of profit, dilapidated dining room and students with poor culinary skills. All the restaurant needed to succeed is to replace the broken equipment, revamp the dining room and this will allow the students to be able to practise their culinary skills. Simply, the students can't improve as Chefs with broken equipment. Robert replaces the equipment and gives the dining room a minor makeover.

What Happened Next?

They have continued with the improvements that Robert had set in place and have kept his menu. They are still open for lunch 3 times a week and have a special themed dinner once a month.

Sullivan's Grill - CLOSED

Episode Recap

Chef Robert Irvine visits Sullivan's Grill in Fruita, Colorado and meets owner Gilly who is on the verge of bankruptcy and had recently lost her husband. The restaurant and kitchen was in a terrible state and in desperate need of a revamp. There was confusion surrounding the direction of the business and the theme of the restaurant. They inherited a Mexican menu when they bought the restaurant and kept some of the original menu items, whilst also adding new dishes. Gilly was working 80 hours a week to keep the restaurant in business and corners had been cut, some of the food was canned or pre-prepared. The restaurant was given a huge makeover and the menu was improved.

What Happened Next?

With the loss of her husband and the improvement in business, Ginny decided to close and sell the business in January 2012.

Hoffman's Bistro and Patisserie - OPEN

Episode Summary

Chef Robert Irvine visits Hoffmans in Santa Cruz , California, where they are losing $20,000 a month, are in $2 million of debt and in desperate need of Robert's help. To add to this the family are constantly arguing and the relationships are suffering. Robert soon discovers that the main problem is the lack of a clear identity, is Hoffmans a restaurant or a bakery? He tells them they need to be strong on both or to focus their attention on just one identity. As a result, the pastry cases which once displayed Ed's cakes were replaced with a wine bar and the restaurant is given a makeover.

What Happened Next?

Robert revisits and the finances have improved but they believe it will take another two years to be out of debt. Although they were reluctant at first they believe that the bar was a great idea and have seen an increase in business from it. They have added new menu items and wish to make a few tweaks to the decor. Overall, they are happy with Robert's changes. Reviews on Trip Advisor and Yelp are mixed since Robert visited.